Immortal Desires (Well of Souls) (23 page)

He eased her onto the bed, his eyes sweeping every inch of her as if starved and facing a feast. She felt completely possessed by his manner and her heart swelled with happiness.

"Undress for me, mo chridhe."

Deanna stood before him and slowly removed her clothes as he watched each movement. Ian had a way of making her feel like a goddess, his face lighting up with a smile as she stroked a breast or ran her hand over her hip.

She didn't get a striptease from him. He dropped his clothes in a flash and backed her onto the bed as her eyes drank in his magnificent physique. His shaft jumped as she reached for him and he grabbed her hands away.

"No hands." He brought out a length of silk from under the bedcovers and pulled her arms taut over her head, wrapping it around her wrists.

A moment later Deanna realized she'd been tied to the bedpost. "That's not fair."

"I didna say I would be fair." He gave her a wicked grin and her heart pounded a lustful tune as he moved down to roll his tongue over her nipple.

"I'll get you back for this," she moaned and arched her hips in an effort to rub against him.

"Aye, I expect you will, but no before I've had my way with you."

The thrill of being at his mercy slammed into her like a jolt of lightning. Deanna writhed beneath Ian as he bypassed her heat in a delicious tease, trailing his tongue along the sensitive skin on the inside of her thighs.

"Ian," she pleaded, "I need you inside me."

He glanced up at her and licked his lips. "Verra bad?"

"Yes,
verra
bad. Come please your wife." She laughed softly as he groaned and fell on top of her like a mountain lion who hadn't had a meal in days.

"I canna deny a request like that." His lips met hers as he plunged his erection deep inside, filling her with pleasure while his tongue mimicked the strokes of his hips.

She reveled in the feel of his powerful muscles as he moved across her body. The tension in her own built until she throbbed against his manhood, squeezing him as she moaned in sweet surrender.

He shuddered and held her tighter, telling her how much he loved her before spilling his seed a moment later.

"I canna hold back when you do that. You are a wicked temptress." He nipped at her shoulder when she laughed.

"Untie me and I'll show you how wicked I can be."

"Aye?" His eyes sparkled as he reached up and released her bonds.

"Roll over on your back," Deanna said softly. "It's your turn to be tied up and tortured."

"Och aye. I'm liking being married more and more." He flipped over and let Deanna have her way with him for the rest of the day.

Chapter Forty-Six

Otherworld

Fury beat at Ian with fists of iron when he saw Robert cut down by the chance arc of a flying blade. He brought his sword to bear on the third guard, anger guiding his weapon's edge to the soft belly of his target. He looked around for the woman but she'd disappeared from the chamber. No time to worry about her now. He moved to Robert's prone body and laid a hand on the still figure.

"Mylia." Robert's voice came out as a croak but it was the sweetest sound Ian had ever heard.

"Dinna think on her now. Lie still and rest. I'll be back with the mortals."

He ran to the wooden door and yanked it open. A man and woman huddled against a wall, staring wide-eyed at his sudden appearance. "Come with me," he yelled, in no mood to linger.

They didn't move and Ian swore at the delay. "I'm here to take you out of this place so you can go back home."

That got them moving, though they edged by him in fear. He glanced down and saw Robert's blood staining his hands and shirt. Rage warred with sensibility. He didn't have time to coddle these people. Robert didn't have time.

With a terse, "Follow me," Ian struggled under Robert's weight as he picked the man up. He muttered Druid healing spells under his breath as the four of them ran through the chambers. The spells were for plants and animals but hopefully they'd stem the flow of blood long enough for Robert to get back outside and gain his Immortality back.

Someone grabbed his belt when they entered the dark chamber and he kept moving, towing the mortals behind him and up to level ground. He set Robert down on his feet as gently as he could and wrapped the man's arms around the shoulders of the strangers.

"Which way should they walk, Robert?" Ian saw pain glaze his mentor's eyes as he opened them and one feeble hand raise to point.

"Aren't you coming with us?" the woman asked, her voice taking on a shrill note.

"I canna go that way. Keep walking as fast as you can until someone comes for you. His life depends on it." He watched as they disappeared through a wall, Robert's feet dragging on the ground between the mortals as they struggled under his weight.

"Brìghde, watch over my friend," Ian murmured and began retracing his steps.

The chasm stretched out before him and Ian sought to suppress his magic once again—to believe that solid earth rested there. His eyes continued to see an abyss no matter what he tried. He'd failed.

Sounds of pursuit reached his ears. Either the others had recovered from their wounds or the woman had brought reinforcements. Robert had called her Mylia. Ian wondered briefly who she was as he pulled out his sword and prepared to fight. At least he could give Robert and the mortals the time they needed to reach safety.

A cool breeze whispered along his skin, lifting strands of sweat-soaked hair from his neck. A gentle touch eased his fatigue and a silvery voice chided him. "You would sink to self-pity? I expect more from you, Warrior."

Ian dropped to his knees, heedless of the danger gaining on him. "Brìghde? Self-pity?"

She didn't answer; the presence gone as swiftly as it came. Had he given up too easily? Thoughts of Deanna filled his mind. Would he ever learn what had become of her or where she went?

Ian straightened. Not if he stayed here and waited to die. The answers lay on the other side of that chasm. He closed his eyes and ran. And believed. For Deanna.

Warm air bathed his skin. Ian opened his eyes without slowing his pace and saw the two mortals still struggling to drag Robert between them. Whether Brìghde had helped him or merely gave him a reason to believe in himself, Ian didn't know. It didn't matter. He was here now and his commitment firmly in place. He sent thanks to the Goddess and caught up to the others.

After pulling Robert into his arms, they all ran until the Council member appeared in front of them. She restored his and Robert's powers as the mortals cowered behind Ian.

Robert groaned as he slowly came to, his pain reaching Ian's mind as a sharp blow to the temple. Even worse was the agony in his thoughts over seeing Mylia again, a ripping of the heart that Robert struggled to block from Ian's awareness but couldn't in his weakened state.

"Am I going home now?" a timid voice asked behind him. Ian turned to see the man's crumpled face. "My wife is ill and she needs me."

He and the woman both disappeared before Ian had a chance to answer. He turned back to the Guardian who hadn't said a word to them yet. "Will the mortals remember what happened to them here?"

The Council member gazed at him, her face still hidden by the cowl. "While they are in the Well they perceive all, but do not worry. It is as it should be."

Ian's hand flexed over the hilt of his sword in impotence. "You recycled them? You didna send them back to their lives?"

She flicked her hand and a bright light surrounded both Ian and Robert, dumping them back into the meadow in Boulder. The Guardian didn't follow.

***

Boulder, October 2012

"What just happened?" Ian paced in front of Robert, grinding the autumn grass beneath the soles of his boots. The older man still sat on the ground trying to catch his breath. "We rescued them from the Conrí only to have them recycled?"

"I'm afraid so. That wasn't what I'd hoped for." He lifted a hand and Ian helped him to his feet.

"Hoped? Did you talk to the Council about them?" Ian froze in mid-stride; his throat closed as if an invisible hand had latched around his neck. "Did they recycle Deanna? Is that why she disappeared?"

"Slow down. I don't think they recycled Deanna. The Council agreed to let me handle that—after the fact." Robert grinned, reminding Ian that he hadn't told the Council about his decision to send Deanna back beforehand. "As for the two we rescued today, I had asked the Council to return them to their current lives. They told me they'd think on it."

"They must no have thought about it for verra long," Ian grumbled. The Council needed more Guardians like Robert to make the decisions. He understood humans better than most, since he lived amongst them.

"Who is Mylia?" Ian watched Robert stiffen, his face looking like he might be ill.

"Can't you guess?" Robert passed his hand over his face. "I'll tell you about her sometime but not right now."

They walked in silence after that toward the Light Street building while Ian cast his senses out in another search for Deanna. He stumbled on the path and would have gone down if Robert hadn't reached out a hand to steady him.

"What's wrong?"

Ian gasped for air as new memories flooded through his mind. He turned to his friend and clasped him on the shoulders, wearing a wide smile that couldn't express the depth of his joy. "Deanna has found her way back to me. We are married."

Chapter Forty-Seven

Robert met with Ian the following day, his strength returned after a good night's sleep. The experience of being human had rattled him. The fragility of life consumed his thoughts, distracting Robert from his mission. Heart beating faster at the memory, he reached for a cup of tea, swallowing the soothing liquid as an antidote to despair.

His empathy toward mortals had grown even stronger; his determination to change the Guardians' position about recycling souls had solidified as well. Robert looked over at Ian's smiling face and relaxed, basking in the man's happiness. At least that had worked out well.

"Deanna fought hard to return to you. Congratulations on your marriage."

Ian nodded, a small grin complimenting the light in his eyes. "It was a shock when she came back on her own like that. Deanna told me she was offered her old life back. I'm grateful she chose me instead."

Robert's mind wandered, stubbing a mental toe in the dark recesses of his buried emotions. Ian had a love that transcended ordinary barriers. His soul mate. Though Immortals didn't have souls, Robert once thought he had that kind of love. Seeing Mylia again had torn open the wound of loss. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the memories.

"You're thinking about Mylia, aye?" Ian's voice carried a wealth of understanding but Robert couldn't afford to accept the pity.

"It's of no importance." He wouldn't speak of her now…maybe not ever. "On to more pressing subjects. I want you to continue searching for lost souls but we'll tag them for now and not alert the Council."

If Ian questioned the wisdom of Robert's decision, he didn't let on, only tilting his head in acceptance like it wasn't a serious breach of protocol. Robert spent a moment reflecting on his new plan of crime, then dismissed it. Sometimes rules had to be broken in order to do the right thing.

***

Highlands, July 1506

Deanna walked through the bailey, raising her face to the chilled sun and rubbed her expanding belly. She'd been cooped up inside for almost a week with a spate of bad weather and the fresh air felt good, though unseasonably cool. Her mother-in-law strode beside her, oddly quiet.

"Are you going to travel to the MacKenzie to see Mairi and the new baby?" Deanna asked. Ian's sister gave birth to a strong, healthy boy several weeks back. Isobel hadn't seen her first grandchild yet. "If it's me you're worried about, don't be. I'll be fine while you're gone."

Isobel patted her hand but her face looked distant, as if she were listening to something else and only partially heard her. "I'm no worried about you. It's…I canna explain it. There's something but it's no clear to me." She frowned and pulled her cloak tighter about her slender frame.

Deanna touched her shoulder in concern. "You're freezing out here. Why don't you go back inside?"

"Nay. I…I need to be out here with you." Isobel shivered and stared straight ahead.

A thrill of fear tightened Deanna's muscles and the baby gave an irritable kick in response. If Isobel had seen something, she wasn't letting on. And yet, the woman had seemed mystified as to why she needed to stay close. It didn't make sense.

"We'll both go back inside," Deanna suggested. The eeriness of Isobel's attitude surrounded her now, pressing against her lungs so she couldn't take a deep breath.

"It's out here. This is where we need to be." Isobel mumbled the words, talking more to herself than anyone else.

"What's out here?" Deanna stopped and scanned the bailey. Everything looked peaceful, people going about their business—but she felt it too. An evil approaching, dimming the light, sucking the air from the sky…